NZ Touring Car Championship 2000

MANFIELD RACEWAY, FEILDING
Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th February 2000
Catch All the Action on One World of Sport TV1 Sunday 19th March 2000

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Qualifying - Richards On Top
by Tony Bunyan

Although he put in a few more laps than usual, Jason Richards in the International Motorsport BNT BMW 320i put his car on pole for Saturday afternoons first race, heading off nearest rival Angus Fogg by four tenths of a second. The weather was hot and overcast, with a light breeze.

Richards teammate Kevin Bell had a mixed beginning to his weekend, firstly damaging his car so badly in Friday practice that the International Motorsport team flew in their specialist panelbeater from Christchurch early Saturday morning to repair the damage.

Kevin Bell's panel beaten BMW 320i returns to the garage for reinstallation of the engine

This resulted in Bell missing both the qualifying session and race one of the three race meeting. While his on track luck was not as good as he had hoped, the result of his appeal to an incident involving Barrie Thomlinson at Pukekohe in January had a more positive outcome. As well as having his points restored, his fine and endorsement period were reduced.

Ross Heffernan has boosted Toyotas chances of increasing their manufacturers points hopes with his mid season appearance. The super quick Corona driver fought his way into third position, trailing Richards by almost 1.5 seconds.

Barrie Thomlinson returns to the Lexus IS200 after his tangle with Kevin Bell at Pukekohe, with Peter Van Breugel rounding out the top five.

Aaron Harris was having a busy weekend, not only competing in the New Zealand Touring Car Championship but also the Mazda RX 7 National Championship. Even more amazing was the ten minutes he had between finishing the Touring Car Race and attending his sister's wedding! Team manager Rex Harris had been given strict instructions to be at his daughter's side with a little more time to spare!!

Richards and Team Boss Lyall Williamson in a post race debrief

Schedule S- Super Production: What's the Diff ?
by Tony Bunyan

With the demise of the Super Touring Class worldwide, considerable excitement has been generated by the creation of the European Super Production Class.

The Europeans readily acknowledge that a significant part of the regulations governing Super Production are based on New Zealand's Schedule S 2.0 litre Touring Cars. Technically less sophisticated than their Super Touring cousins, both Super Production and Schedule S cost less to build and run, making them more attractive to the budget conscience.

But there are significant differences between Schedule S and Super Production. While there are many opinions about the relative merits of each class, at present Schedule S appears to have a slight advantage over Super Production. This may be for no other reason than Schedule S has had the luxury of much more development time than Super Production.

Schedule S Cars run 17" wheels (left) while the Super Production Cars run smaller 15" wheels

Although Super Production cars produce more horsepower there are three factors which put them at a disadvantage.

The first is they are heavier than Schedule S cars. This extra weight reduces the cars ability to accelerate and brake.

Secondly Super Production cars have smaller brakes than their Schedule S cousins. The combination of more weight and smaller brakes make the cars more difficult to slow down.

Finally as the photo shows Super Production cars have smaller diameter wheels, making them more prone to heat degradation and a consequent drop in performance.

Fogg Makes Richards Work for Wins
by Tony Bunyan

Angus Fogg must be wondering what he has to do to stay in front of Jason Richards and secure his first win of the season after leading in the early stages of all three races in the New Zealand Touring Car Championship Meeting at the Manfield Motor Racing Circuit.

In Saturday's 8 lap race Richards once again put himself at the head of the results sheet to score another superb win, the ninth this season. But like his encounter with Angus Fogg a month earlier, he again had to fight hard for the lead after the Nissan driver lead off the line. Saturday's result didn't reflect the exciting dice Richards had with Fogg, stealing the lead back half way through the race and consolidating his win.

Fogg had made it a real race by winning the start to lead Richards through the Esses. Barrie Thomlinson, returning in the Lexus that he is likely to finish the season in, also got away to a great start to fall into third, with Ross Heffernan hot on his heals.

Jason Richards Enjoys the the Fruits of Saturday's Hard Fought Win!!

At the end of the first lap Barrie Thomlinson's Lexus IS200 broke traction spinning off the track and forcing those behind to take evasive manoeuvers!! Geoff Short's Telstar made contact with Peter Van Breugel's PitStop Primera, Jody Vincent making the best of the situation to claim fourth position. Mean while there was plenty happening in the under 1600 cc class with a close battle developing between Ryan, Roscoe and Jarvis, Jarvis overtaking Roscoe on the second lap only to loose the place later in the race.

Ross Heffernan made a welcome return to the NZ Touring Car Scene in the Toyota Corona

On lap 3 Fogg maintained his lead over Richards, at one point pulling over six lengths on Richards and Geoff Short advanced into fourth place.

With heat building in his tyres and understeer once again affecting car handling Fogg lost his lead on lap four when Richards took advantage of a small error to hit the front. Meanwhile a real battle was heating up for fourth, fifth and sixth with Short heading Vincent, Harris, Van Breugel and an every improving Thomlinson.

Short found himself under increasing pressure as Harris in the Dynopack BMW 320 coupé, Thomlinson in the Lexus and Van Breugel in the Pit Stop Primera all closed down on him.

In one of the best moves of the race, Aaron Harris dropped down under Short, forcing the Telstar wide, allowing both him and Thomlinson to follow through.

Jason Richards (left) and Angus Fogg Discuss the Result

In the closing stages of the race Mark Roscoe got the better of Grant Ryan to snatch first in the 1600 cc and under class. Both Grant Ryan and Ted Jarvis incurred a five second penalty for jumping the start and Jarvis later coped a $600 fine, points exclusion from the race and a six month license endorsement for a post race incident.

Sunday's first race was held in bright sunny conditions with a moderate breeze from the south. Althoughhe made an excellent start to be first off the line in the BNT BMW 320i, Jason Richards could not hold off Angus Fogg's challenge and it was the Nissan Bluebird Driver who lead through the Esses. Next was Barrie Thomlinson in the much improved Lexus, with Geoff Short getting the jump on Ross Heffernan's Toyota Corona.

The Lexus IS 200 had suffered continuing gearbox problems since its heavy shunt at Pukekohe and the gearbox was rebuilt over night. Also rebuilt overnight was Kevin Bell's BMW 320i after it sustained severe damage to the left front of the car in Friday's practice. Having missed Saturday's qualifying session Bell started from the back of the grid and had to play catch up for most of the race, passing Harris on lap 2.

Lap 2 also saw Richards and Fogg touch at the end of the front straight when Fogg missed a gear, both cars sustaining panel damage, unsettling the Nissan enough to allow Richards to strike out into the lead.

Manifold Pit Row is a Hive of Activity

Ross Heffernan in the Signature Class Toyota Corona climbed all over the back of Geoff Short up the Denny Hulme straight on lap 3 to finally pass on the back straight, the Toyota once again demonstrating its straight line speed. Peter Van Breugel hung off the back of this tightly bunched group, with Bell bearing down on him from behind.

By the half way stage Bell had caught and passed both van Breugel and Short to move into fourth position. Richards had managed to extend his lead over Fogg, with Thomlinson and Heffernan evenly spaced behind. In the under 1600 cc class Mark Roscoe and Grant Ryan kept the crowd entertained with their own duel. Swapping the lead several times every lap, it was Ryan who crossed the line a mere four hundredths of a second ahead of Roscoe.

Sunday's second race saw Kevin Bell advance on the grid as a result of his best racing lap in the previous race, with Richards and Fogg sitting on the front row of the grid. Despite his rear wheel drive advantage and a great start, Richards couldn't hold Fogg off and in what had become a familiar sight all weekend it was Fogg who lead the pack through the Esses. Thomlinson and Harris both got away well, with Heffernen and Bell following.

Mayhem broke out on lap 3 when Richards, chasing Fogg down the front straight found a gap on the inside line through the sweeper, the cars driving side by side on towards the Esses. It must have been an interesting view from inside the cockpits of the cars, with Richards driving a left hand drive car panel to panel with Fogg's right hand drive car. So close they could swap telemetry!! The coming together that seemed inevitable occurred sending Fogg careering off into a tyre barrier. It was a surprise to see Fogg rejoin the race, all be it one lap down!

Geoff Short in the Ford Telstar was not without his problems, making an unscheduled pit stop on lap 3.

Harris had held Bell and Heffernan off for five laps before both managed to pass him through the Esses. On lap 6 the order was Richards, Thomlinson, Bell, Heffernan, Harris and Van Breugel. Fogg was driving at 120% to try and catch up with the rest of the field. This resulted in a spectacular plume of dusk at the entrance to the main straight on the final lap as the Bluebird lurched from one side of the track and then the other. Mark Roscoe and Grant Ryan had picked up where they had left off in the earlier race. Ryan again pipped Roscoe at the line by two tenths of a second. Richards completed his perfect score for the weekend, with the much improved Lexus IS200 of Barrie Thomlinson finishing second and Bell in the other BMW 320i in third.

The weekend was not as easy as Richards might have hoped. The fact that Fogg keep him honest all weekend should only make his wins all the sweeter. Richards now takes another maximum points score into the penultimate round at Pukekohe on April 9th. With the return of Ross Heffernan in the super quick Toyota Corona and Fogg's belief that the Nissan is better suited to the Pukekohe track, motor racing fans can expect the dominant BMW driver to have his work cut out for him.